The Love of One
by PAT THE KITSUNE
Summary: What happens when Knuckles meets a mysterious, young girl who claims to be the guardian of a very powerful crystal? Read to find out!
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Hey, everybody! This is my first fic so please don't flame me or my story. Also, please review and tell me if you like my story or make suggestions. I hope you all like my story. Disclaimer: I don't own anyone except for my character Orange so don't sue me!

Chapter 1: Orange the Echidna

Angel Island- 8:00a.m.

Knuckles the Echidna is at the shrine of the Master Emerald. He is laying down next to the M.E. with his hands under his head and staring up in the sky. "Is this going to be the rest of my life?" he thought to himself. "I mean, I know that it's my destiny to guard the M.E., but is that all there is to my life." He then closed his eyes.

" What are you doing? Sleeping on the job?" Knuckles lazily opened his eyes and looked up. Standing right above him was Tikal. The light brown echidna had her hands on her hips and had a kind of annoyed look on her face. Knuckles quickly sat up and looked at her also with a somewhat annoyed look on his face. "What do you want? You're only supposed to travel through time to see me when I need your help or there's some kind of problem. Well, I guess since you're here you can watch the M.E. for me while I take a short break." " But, Knuckles! I thought I felt a disturbance here, but everything seems fine." " Maybe you were just imagining things." he smirked. " Wait!" she yelled. " I'm going to stay nearby for a while just to make sure everything is all right. Please, at least take a walkie talkie with you and stay nearby just in case." Knuckles nodded and took the walkie talkie from her hand.

Knuckles walked down a path into a wooded area. Before entering the woods, he noticed that Sonic and Tails were stretched out in the grass sleeping. He decided to leave them alone and continued his way into the woods. He walked along a path until he reached a small meadow. When he came closer, he noticed a figure laying in the grass. He could not make it out at first, but upon further examination he realized it was a girl. She looked to be about 18 years of age. She was an orange echidna with black bangs hanging down in front of her eyes. Her eyes were emerald green and she wore a blue dress and a pair of black boots. She was laying in the field relaxing and staring into the sky. Knuckles was watching her from behind a tree and thinking to himself. " Who's that? How did she find this island? It just doesn't make any sense at all." Just then his walkie talkie crackled a little bit. The girl sat up and caught sight of Knuckles who quickly ducked back behind a tree. " Oh my. I didn't know I was being watched. I'm sorry. Did I trespass?" Knuckles came out from behind the tree and said in a calm voice, " Not…exactly…" Orange stared at him and then blushed as she said, " Oh my! I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Orange!" Knuckles then replied, " Hi, I'm Knuckles-" He was quickly cut off, " Oh wow! Are you the guardian of the M.E.!" Knuckles stared blankly for a second then said, " Yes, but how did you know about the M.E. and this place?" She answered him, " Oh, I guess Tails hasn't told you about me yet. I'm staying with him for a while. I was on the run from some evil men. I'm the guardian of one of the Time Crystals. There are five and if they were all combined and fell into the wrong hands the world could be destroyed. My mother was the guardian before me but her and my father were killed. She gave it to me and my brother got me to safety. However, recently, we have found posters with my picture on them. He told me that for my safety I should run as far away from there as I could. That's when Tails offered me some shelter here. Please let me stay! Just for a short amount of time. I'll leave as soon as the situation back in the city dies down a bit." Knuckles stared with his mouth open a bit, " Of course you can stay. Stay as long as you need." Then he laughed a bit, " Besides, we can't have the world destroyed." Orange then laughed also, " That's right! That wouldn't very good!"

Just then , Knuckles' walkie talkie crackled again and he could hear Tikal's voice coming through, " KNUCKLES! Help! Eggman's attacking! I summoned Chaos but he's having trouble holding him off! Eggman has two chaos emeralds powering his machine! He's trying to take the last five emeralds! Come quickly!" Just then he heard Eggman's voice, " There is not hope for you now, girl!" Then it went dead. " Damn! I lost the connection!" Knuckle's yelled. " Listen…um…Orange! I have to go help my friend, Tikal!" " Please take me with you! I think I can help!" Knuckles stopped and stared at her for a moment, " You can only come if you stay out of my way and far from danger!" She nodded, " Right!" They then ran off in the direction of the M.E.

Author: Okay, that's chapter one for you all. I hope you enjoyed.

Sonic: Hey! We were barely in that chapter!

Tails: Yeah! We didn't even get one line!

Author: Oh, well! You guys don't show up until chapter two.

Sonic : Why does Knux get to in this more than us!

Author: In case you haven't noticed, this story is about Knux and Orange!

Tails: You always get this way when you write about them…sigh

Author: Yeah…I know…you guys are annoying me now so just shut up…--; Okay now I'll introduce the next chapter- Chapter 2: TIME WARP! Remember to please review and I'll have the next chapter up as soon as I can! Cya! falls over on Knux and cuddles him.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Hey, everybody! I want to thank anybody that sent me a review ( which I believe I got only 1 review ). Yeah, it's kind of pathetic but at least I got 1 and maybe I'll get more later. Anyway, I was asked why a spirit had a walkie talkie. To tell you all the truth I have no freaking idea but I was wondering that too when I wrote it. I actually just put it in when I wrote it so I'm afraid I don't have an explination. Sorry. However, I would still like to explain something about Tikal to be used for future reference. In my story, although Tikal is a spirit that can travel through time, she is also a "solid" spirit that can still be injured. I hope this will clear up any future confusion in a few of my chapters with Tikal in them. Okay, now I'll get started. I hope you all like chapter 2. Disclaimer: I don't own anybody that doesn't belong to me so please don't sue me. I'm begging you!

Chapter 2: TIME WARP!

Angel Island- 8:15a.m.

Knuckles and Orange were just reaching the M.E. when they saw Chaos being flung into a tree. Chaos' body hit so hard that his body seemed to go out in all directions, leaving little puddles all around. His liquid body then formed one body that was slumped up against the tree but then he went back to one puddle on the ground. Knuckles looked over quickly and noticed Tikal standing in front of the M.E. with the machine coming toward her. "TIKAL!" he yelled out to her. She quickly looked up and noticing Knuckles, responded, " Knuckles! You made it!" She then looked at Orange who was standing next to him. She then thought to herself, " Who the hell is that girl! How did she get here!-" Unfortunately, her train of thought was cut off when Eggman aimed a gun at her and shot. The loud noise that the gun made woke her up and she managed to dodge but the bullet grazed the side of her hand. "Ouch!" she yelped out as she rolled to the side. " Hahaha! You foolish girl!" Eggman said as he fired up a laser. He then shot and the laser hit full force on Tikal's back. Tikal fell to the ground unconcious and a mechanical arm reached out from his Egg Carrier and grabbed her. " Eggman! Let her go!" Knuckles yelled charging at the machine. He jumped in the air and landed a hard punch on the mechanical arm, which broke off easily. It released its grip and Tikal fell to the ground in the battle field. " Tikal!" he said in a panicked voice. " Don't worry, Knuckles! I'll get her!" Orange quickly yelled. Knuckles turned around just in time to hear Orange yell out the words "TIME WARP!", see a bright green light from the crystal around her neck surround her, and disappear. " What the!..." he looked around for her and suddenly saw her appear next to Tikal. She grabbed her and repeated the process, reappearing in back of Knuckles. Before anybody else could respond, another mechanical arm reached out to grab the Time Crystal around her neck. "Hey!" Orange yelled and chased after it. Before she could reach it, however, another laser shot out at her. "Orange! Watch out!" Knuckles quickly ran over and scooped Orange in his arm and jumped out of the way, but not before getting his leg caught in the laser for a few seconds. He fell and rolled and ended up on top of Orange. " Damn... That hurt..." "Um...Knuckles?" Orange looked up at him and blushed. Knuckles quickly looked down and fell back blushing."AHHH! Sorry! Are you alright?" She looked at him. " Yes, but what about your leg!" He winced as he attempted to move it. " Oh, I'm so sorry, Knuckles! This is all my fault! You hurt yourself trying to protect...me..." " It wasn't your fault, Orange. You have to keep calm." Eggman examined the crystal carefully. " This crystal has great power! I shall use it to conquer the world!"

Before he could begin his evil laugh a blue ball came blasting through the center of the Egg Carrier at light speed. Tails then swooped in and snatched the crystal from Eggman. " What the!... Damn you, you blasted hedgehog!" Sonic stopped by Knuckles. " Hey! Need some help?" Knuckles smiled. " Sure! Perfect timing!" Sonic then ran at the machine. " Okay! Let's end this!" He twirled quickly into a ball and smashed into the machine and sent it flying. " AHHHHH! I'll be back!" Sonic picked up Knuckles, Orange helped Tikal back to her feet, and Tails brought the crystal to Orange. Tikal lifted her head and looked at Tails," Get...the two...Chaos Emeralds..." He ran over to the Chaos Emeralds and picked them up. " Well, now we have all seven Chaos Emeralds. I'm working on a new machine that could really use their power. I'll leave these two with the other five but when I'm finished, I'll come pick up a few. It wouldn't be wise to keep all seven in one place for too long. Eggman would just try to steal them again." Knuckles nodded, "Okay!" Tikal looked at Orange, " I believe I didn't catch your...your name..." Orange then said gently, " You shouldn't try to speak yet. You're hurt and your hand is bleeding. But I will tell you my name. It's Orange. And I believe yours was...Tikal, was it?" Tikal just nodded her head a little and tried to smile. Sonic then looked at Tails and Orange and replied, " We should get these guys back to Knuckles' house. They nodded and helped Knuckles and Tikal down the path leading to Knuckles' house.

Author: Alright! That's chapter 2 for you all! I hope you all enjoyed it!

Sonic: Yeah! Now, that's what I'm talking about! It's always fun to beat up Eggbutt!

Tails: Yeah but I never get a big enough role in fight scenes...

Author: Don't worry, Tails, you get a bigger role in a couple of chapters.

Orange: That chapter made me feel really weak...-.-;

Author: Awwwww! I'm sorry, Orange! I make you stronger in about 2 more chapters. Besides, you're still my favorite!

Orange: Yay!

Knux: Hey! What about me!

Author: I love you too, Knuckles! hugs him Okay, I'll have chapter 3 up soon! A Night to Remember. Cya! leaves to go run over some random victim with a car


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: I'm back with another chapter! This chapter is a bit longer than my first two so I'm just going to begin now. Disclaimer: I only own Orange, but I wish I owned Knuckles.

Chapter 3: A Night to Remember

Angel Island- 7:30p.m.

Everybody, with the exception of Tikal and Orange, sat in Knuckles' kitchen talking and waiting for Orange to enter the room. She had spent the rest of the day in Knuckles' room, watching over Tikal, who was resting in his bed. Tails sat at a table rubbing a creamy substance on Knuckles' leg. "Ouch! That hurts!" Knuckles said, a bit irritated by the sting that the cream left. Tails looked up. "Sorry, Knuckles but I got to put this stuff on your leg. It will make you feel better. You're lucky that it was only caught in that laser for a few moments otherwise you might not have been able to walk for at least a couple of weeks." Knuckles looked over at him, a bit relieved. " You mean I'll be able to walk as soon as we're done here?" Tails answered, with some concern on his face, "Well,yes, but you might be better off resting it for a few days." Sonic looked up from the book he was reading. "Yeah so stop acting like a big baby already!" Knuckles then yelled at him, "What! Shut up, you little bast-" Before he could finish, Orange walked in and saw Knuckles about to slam the book over Sonic's head. "Um...What are you guys doing?" Knuckles stopped instantly and said, annoyed, "Oh, I was just offering my good FRIEND, Sonic, a book to read." She smiled as he handed Sonic the book. "Oh! That's so sweet!" She then left the room for a second and Sonic burst out laughing. "HA! I think you like her!" Knuckles' mouth hung open, "What the hell are you talking about! I do not!" Sonic just smirked, " Sure, Knuckles, sure."

Orange walked into the room a few moments later. "Tikal should be fine in a few days." Knuckles looked up at her Time Crystal. "Wow. That crystal seems powerful. How did you do that...that time warp thing?" Orange looked down at it. "Oh! Well, actually, it isn't as powerful as you think. There are five crystals and all have different abilities. Two are very powerful but the other three have limited power. Mine is one of the three weaker ones. The two powerful ones can allow someone to travel forward or backward in time. You saw what mine does, although it only takes me a few feet. The other two can control a person's age and stop time but only for a limited amount of time. Together, however, they could be deadly." Knuckles stared at her in amazement. "Wow. I can see why you ran away to this island. It's a lot of responsibility watching something like that." She nodded. He looked over at Sonic, who continued to smile evily at him. He quickly looked away blushing, more from anger than anything else.

Within the next instant, he slammed his hands on the table and stood up. He wobbled a little at first but managed to walk. With his back turned to the others he said calmly, "Since Tikal usually watches the M.E. at night, I'll be watching it tonight while she's resting. I'm leaving now." Orange watched him walk out the door and down a path to the M.E. "Is he okay? He seemed kind of upset." Sonic layed back, "Don't worry. He gets like this sometimes." She replied, "Oh. Maybe I should go check on him...you know...just to make sure he's okay and give him some company." She stood up. Sonic smiled. "You do that, Orange." She then left to follow him.

Knuckles walked down the path thinking to himself, "Hmph! Sonic! Sometimes he's just a little bastard! What the hell did he mean, 'I like Orange!' He's crazy! I don't have some kind of crush on her or anything! Although, there is something mysterious about her that I like. But still! We're only friends and nothing more!" He reached the shrine right as the sun was beginning to set. Orange arrived shortly after and walked up behind Knuckles. "Knuckles?" He looked back a bit surprised. "Orange! What are you doing here!" She looked up at him. " I came to keep you company, if you don't mind." He smiled, " Sure...I could use some company." Orange sat down next to him and looked at the sky. The last rays of sunshine hit her face and she seemed almost like a goddess. Before long, it had grown dark and the sky was filled with stars. She stared in amazement. "Wow! The stars are so bright and close here. It never gets this way in the city. There are too many lights."

Just then something amazing happened. Orange's Time Crystal reacted to the M.E. and the Chaos Emeralds. It glowed a bright green and floated up in the air. It positioned itself above the M.E. and began to spin. Then the M.E. and Chaos Emeralds also began to glow, producing many bright colors. The Chaos Emeralds also floated and formed a circle around the M.E. and started floating around it. Orange and Knuckles watched in amazement at this sight. Knuckles asked, "What's going on!" Orange responded, "I don't know but it sure is beautiful!" All of a sudden, out of nowhere, a group of chao appeared. They seemed to dance in the air and sing, "Chaooo...Chaooo..." very softly. It almost seemed as though they were worshiping this extrordinary phenomenon. Orange smiled as the lights reflected off her face. Seeing as how this occurance created no trouble, Knuckles relaxed again and let his eyes wander. His eyes caught sight of Orange's shining face and he thought to himself, "Right now...I'm getting that mysterious feeling I had earlier when I was with her...and yet, strangely enough, it's a comfortable feeling too." Orange watched, thinking to herself also, "Wow. He sure did grow quiet all of a sudden. I wonder what he's thinking. It's weird...I've never been able to trust another male, other than my brother, ever since those evil men killed my parents...but...for some strange reason...I actually think I can fully trust him." All this went through their heads as they relaxed.

About half an hour later, Orange had begun to grow tired. She was half asleep and eventually became unaware of everything going on around her. She began to tilt to the side and she finally blacked out, letting her head fall on Knuckles' shoulder. She relaxed in her sleep and nuzzled her head against his chest. He looked down at her and, instead of waking her up to bring her home to go to bed, he just let her sleep where she was. Before long, he too began to become weary. He looked around a few more times before his vision went from being blury to dark. He, too, tilted to the side and fell asleep with Orange still resting on him.

Author: Well, that was chapter three for you. I hope you all enjoyed that.I don't have much more to say so I'm going back to bed. Please review and I'll have the next chapter up soon. Chapter 4: True Power-Part I-Hidden Power. Cya!


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Hey, everybody! I'm back! Sorry I haven't updated in the last week but I was spending time with friends that are leaving for a long time on summer trips. Thanks to anyone who sent in reviews for my last chapter ( I know I got at least two reviews). I better get started because I don't know how long this chapter may take to write. Hopefully, when I'm finished wrighting it, it will be a good length and leave enough room for the next chapter. Disclaimer: I only own Orange but I wish I owned Knuckles. Wait! Did I say that again! Well, it's true!

Chapter 4: True Power-Part I- Hidden Power

Angel Island- 10:00 a.m.

It was well after sunrise when Knuckles finally woke up. At first the sun was shining directly in his eyes and he did his best to block it out. He finally decided to just give in and face it. He slowly opened his eyes and quickly blinked a few times in an attempt to improve his vision. After a moment of this, he began to let his eyes look around a little before sitting up. He tried to remember what had happened the night before. He remembered pretty quickly and looked over at the M.E. It had gone back to its normal glow and the Chaos Emeralds, along with the Time Crystal, had stopped floating. He tried to sit up but found that he was unable to at first. He glanced over at Orange, who was still fast asleep. She had her arms hooked around his waist and her head resting in his lap. He thought to himself, a little annoyed, "Oh, great. I'm being used as a teddy bear." He attempted to sit up once again, this time with more success and he softly unhooked her arms from around him, setting her back down gently. She moved a bit in her sleep but still did not wake. He stood up and stretched out while looking out at the view from the top of the shrine. He decided that he had better wake Orange so they could both check up on Tikal. He knelt down beside Orange and shook her gently, whispering, "Orange...Orange..." She slowly opened her eyes and looked around a bit. She looked up at Knuckles and sat up slowly. "What time is it?" He replied, "It's pretty late in the morning. Do you want to go check up on Tikal?" She yawned and nodded her head, "Sure. Let's go." He stopped her quickly, "Wait." Orange looked at him and closed her eyes tight as he reached out toward her face. He picked up a leaf that was caught in her bangs and held it out in front of her. She opened one eye and smiled. "Thanks." "No problem."

They began walking down the path leading back to Knuckles' house but suddenly heard a loud explosion from behind them. They turned around quickly and saw smoke rising from where the shrine was. They quickly ran back and and found none other than Eggman sitting in his Egg Carrier only this time it had a few improvements. It had a drill in front and 12 more mechanicle arms coming out of the sides. It was also equipped with some rockets on the sides and three slots. He laughed slowly as Knuckles and Orange approached. "Heheheh...I'll bet you think this is the weapon I'll be using against you. Well, to tell you the truth, this is only if my first plan fails! I mean, why should I use a destructive machine when it would be more entertaining to watch you turn against each other while I steal all your emeralds!" "Eggman! What are you talking about!" Knuckles yelled back at him. "You'll see! I was planning on using this on Sonic first but since he's not here, I'll use it on your little girlfriend!" Knuckles and Orange stood still for a moment, staring at each other. Knuckles was the first to speak in an angry voice, "Girlfriend! What the hell is wrong with all you people! She is not my girlfriend!" Eggman just smiled and shrugged. "Oh,well. I'm still going to use this on her!" Just then a giant arm grabbed Orange's Time Crystal. She quickly jumped and grabbed it. She pulled it hard but couldn't get it free. She was lifted up in the air still hanging on to it. "Let go! My mother gave me this! You can't have it!" she yelled at him. Before anything could be done for her, another arm reached out and slapped a bracelet on her wrist. Electricity came pouring out and shocked Orange. She fell back against a tree, still holding the crystal. She was unconcious. Just then Sonic came blasting through one of the arms and landed next to Knuckles. "Are you guys okay!" Knuckles responded, "I'm fine but Orange is out cold." Tails ran up to Orange and checked her pulse. "We heard an explosion over hear so we came as quickly as we could!"

Sonic looked at Knuckles, "Want to finish this quickly?" He smiled. "Sure." They both charged at Eggman but he just smiled as he took out a remote and pushed a button. Orange's eyes snapped open and she pushed Tails aside and blocked Sonic and Knuckles. They stopped instantly. "What the hell! Orange, don't get in our way!" She just stood there staring at them with a dull look. "She can't hear you, you fools! She's under my control now! Now, my dear, attack Sonic and Knuckles!" Orange lunged forward and punched Sonic in the stomache and kicked Knuckles in the face. Sonic stood up and smiled. "So you want to play rough, do you? Fine!" Knuckles grabbed him quickly. "You can't fight her, Sonic! She's still our friend and we can't hurt her!" Sonic growled a bit, "I guess you're right! But we have to do something!" Knuckles looked over at her. "It's that bracelet! We have to get it off her somehow!" Sonic nodded. "Right! Let's split up and grab her!" Sonic ran around to try and distract her while Knuckles attempted to grab her from behind. However, she quickly called out, "TIME WARP" and disappeared before he could get to her. They stopped and looked around franticly. "Where did she go!" Sonic questioned. Knuckles looked around when suddenly she appeared behind him and gave him a kick to the back. He was sent flying forward and Orange warped herself in front of him, punching him in the stomache hard. He fell to the ground, gasping for air because he had the wind knocked out of him. Sonic turned to him and asked, "Are you al-" He was cut off when Orange appeared in front of him and kicked him in the groin. He fell down with tears beginning to form in his eyes. "That's it...no more mr. nice guy! Sorry, Knuckles, but the only chance we're going to have to get near her is by knocking her out!" He stood up and walked slowly to the Chaos Emeralds. He then was surrounded by a yellow flame and transformed into Super Sonic. He formed a ball of energy in his hand and focused it on Orange. "Sorry,Orange, but this is the only way to save you!" Orange charged at him and he let the blast of energy hurl out of his hands. He managed to get a direct hit and she was pushed back as she tried to hold her ground. At last, she slammed into a huge tree and stopped moving. "Holy crap! Did I use a little too much energy!" he said floating over to her quickly.

Tails and Knuckles ran over and checked on her. Tails examined her. She was still breathing and the only damage done to her was a large rip in the back of her clothes and a scratch where she had hit the tree. Knuckles ripped the bracelet off her wrist and she opened her eyes and whispered to Knuckles, "Knu...Knuckles...I'm sorry...I attacked you..." She began to sob and the tears began to wash over her face. Knuckles became really angry at this. "No! Don't you cry! This...this wasn't any of your fault!" She stared at him, concerned. "Knuckles..." He turned around and was engulfed in a flame also, becoming Super Knuckles. His eyes seemed to have turned from purple to a deep blood red. "Eggman...You sick bastard! You'll pay for what you did to her!" Sonic floated over to him. "Yeah! We'll never forgive you for this!" "Damn! My first plan didn't work so I'll move on the Plan B!" Just then, four mechanical arms shot out in different directions. One grabbed the Time Crystal from Orange and placed it in a slot. Another, picked up the M.E. and also placed it in a slot. The last two shot out grabbing Sonic and Knuckles. "HA! By using the powers of the M.E., I can make you return to normal and you'll be helpless to stop me from taking the Chaos Emeralds!" Sonic and Knuckles struggled to get away but a current of energy from the M.E. caused them to return to normal. They then began to gasp for air as the arms began to wrap tighter and tighter around them. "Sonic! Knuckles!" Tails yelled running over to them. Unfortunately, another arm shot out and knocked Tails over. "You can go ahead and die now, fox boy!" Eggman said pulling out a gun and aiming it at him. Tails stared at the gun and he closed his eyes tight as tears began to role down his cheeks. Orange looked at Tails with fear in her eyes but then she began to glow a bright light. Before the bullet hit Tails though, Orange flew in front of it and blocked it with her body. It pierced her side but she somehow managed to continue standing. Knuckles and Sonic looked over at her. "What's happening?" She stood there and a pair of glowing wings had appeared. They were feathery and some of the bottom feathers were bloody. Eggman yelled in confusion, "What the hell!" She began walking slowly toward him and he began shooting more at her. She just let them hit her instead of trying to dodge them. One bullet hit her left shoulder and she stopped to pull the bullet out of her skin. She was now covered in blood but she still walked forward to the slot holding her Time Crystal. " You! You can't be for real!" Eggman started. She glared at him as she punched into the slot holding her crystal. "Maybe you're right. But that doesn't matter to me." She quickly warped over to where Sonic and Knuckles were and managed to cut them free from the metal arms. They looked at her and smiled. "Thanks." She smiled at them and said happily, "You're welcome!" She then walked over to Tails and held him in her arms, hugging him as though he were her child and she would do anything to protect him. Sonic and Knuckles stood up once more, ready to fight. Knuckles, however, took one more glance at this new figure standing over with Tails and thought to himself, "She really is the most mysterious girl I have ever met."

Author: Okay! I'm going to end there for now and continue a little later! The next chapter will hold many more surprises so don't stop reading. I'll get it up as soon as I can. Please continue to review and I'll cya all later! Chapter 5: True Power-Part II- Super Tails!


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Hey everybody! I'm finally back and I'm really sorry for the time it has taken me to update but I've been on vacation and had some computer problems.

Well, anyway, I'm back with the next chapter and the continuation of another sucky battle scene. I'm really not good at fighting scenes but I have to have a few exciting scenes along with the romance in this story. Well I've already spent enough time goofing off so I better get started now. Disclaimer: Once again, Orange is the only character I own.

Chapter 5: True Power- Part II- Super Tails

Angel Island- 10:45a.m.

Sonic and Knuckles stood ready to fight once again in their super forms. Eggman began to growl as they glared at him. He thought to himself, " Damn, that girl! She ruined my plan to finally be rid of those two pests!" Sonic and Knucklesquickly shot forward,blasting through four more mechanical arms. He yelled out at them, " I hope you don't think that was the best that my machine could do! I have much more in store for the both of you!" Sonic just smiled. " Bring it on, Eggman!" Eggman smiled to himself. " You asked for it!" Just then, the drill in the middle began to open. Sonic said, " Be ready, Knuckles!" Knuckle replied, " Right!" When it was completely open, it revealed what seemed to be a few darts of some sort. Two shot out and pierced the skin on their arms when they went to block. They pulled the darts out and just stared at them dully. With the same expression on his face, Sonic looked over at Eggman and questioned him, " What the hell kind of attack was that! That was pathetic!" Eggman just laughed to himself, quietly, thinking, " You just go on thinking that, hedgehog." Knuckles stepped up next. " Hey, Sonic! Do you want me to finish this?" " Go right ahead." Sonic answered. Knucles shot forward and blasted through the machine a ton of times. " One more hit should do it but I still have to get the M.E. out of that machine." He was about to blast through the slot holding the M.E. and grab it but stopped short when he heard Tails yell out, "ORANGE!" He turned around and saw Orange on the ground. The amount of blood that she had lost was just hitting her and she was quickly losing conciousness. Eggman pushed a button, whispering to himself, " This is my chance." Another arm shot out but Knuckles was able to catch it in time and punched it to pieces. Eggman began to sweat, looking for anything that could help him. Just then he realized one thing that he had forgotten. Knuckles and Sonic charged, once again, at the machine and right before they could deliver the last blow, Eggman pushed one last button. The very tip of the drill opened a bit and a spray filled the air. Knuckles and Sonic stopped suddenly and fell down, asleep.

Without any protection, Eggman decided to turn toward Tails, who knelt down by Orange and looked out in horror at Sonic and Knuckles. Eggman took out another blaster and aimed it at Tails. It had to first charge, and Tails did his best to try and move Orange, but he was unable to. He looked at the gun and then back at Orange. "You saved me, so now I have to save you, but I don't know how! Sonic and Knuckles have also saved me countless times, and I can't let Eggman destroy them! What am I going to do! What am I going to do! Think, Tails, think!" he said, talking more to himself than anybody else. Just then, something inside him snapped. The gun was now charged, and Eggman laughed. " Now it's time to finish what I started!" He pulled the trigger, and a large blast filled the area. At first, all that could be seen was a bright white light and a purple looking flame forming where Tails and Orange had been, then black smoke. Eggman laughed out. " HAHA! I'm finally done with that pest, Tails! Huh!" Suddenly he noticed a figure floating in the background. When the smoke cleared, a green figure floated in the air, with a darker shade of blue in his eyes. His bangs had turned to an aqua blue color also. He had Orange in his arms and glared at Eggman. Eggman screamed out. " How the hell is this possible! Tails has never been able to go super! Oh well! He probably doesn't even know how to use his chaos powers yet! I can take him out with my rockets!" Tails glared at him. " Eggman! You have no idea what I can do!"

Tails moved Orange back to a safer spot and returned to face Eggman. Eggman said, menicingly, " We'll see how well you can control your powers, foxboy!" Tails growled, thinking to himself, " Damn! He's right! I didn't even know this was possible! The truth is, I don't know how to control my powers, but I have to do something! Well, I know I can make a shield. That was the only way that Orange and I could have survived that blast, but I need to figure out what else I can do!" Eggman laughed again, " HA! You can't do anything, can you! I'll destroy you now!" He pushed a button, releasing all four of his rockets. They were heat sensative and followed Tails as he flew as quickly as he could into the sky. He looked back at the quickly approaching rocket. He closed his eyes tightly as he knew that in a matter of seconds, it would catch up with him. All he could think to do was turn back and face it. He thought to himself, " I should try creating an energy ball like Sonic was able to do, but I shouldn't risk it yet! First, I'll just trying to create a shield again." He turned back and stared at the rockets. " Now...how did I do it again?" He stretched out his arms and concentrated on forming a shield. However, he was only able to form a shield near his hands. " Oh, no!" he said, blocking one of the rockets with his hands. Unfortunately, he was pushed back and his shield was broken. That's when disaster happened. All the rockets hit him full force, exploading. Eggman looked up, smiling. " I knew it!" Orange, who had been slipping in and out of conciousness the whole time, propped herself up against a tree and watched in horror, as she caught sight of Tails falling out of the sky at a fast velocity. Tears came bursting out of her eyes, as Tails hit the ground, head first. Blood came squirting out of his mouth when he hit and he layed in a puddle of blood.

Orange did her best to pull herself up to Tails' side. She buried her face in his chest, crying. " WHY, TAILS, WHY! YOU CAN'T DIE!" Just then, she pulled her head back, realizing that he still had a heart beat. It was slow, but steady. She quickly placed her hands on him. " There's still one thing I can do to save you! I'm going to transfer the last of my energy into your body and you should be revived!" Eggman looked around quickly. " Damn, that girl again! Where did I put my blaster!" Orange had already begun to glow. Knuckles was just waking up and first he noticed Orange transferring energy into Tails. " Hey, Sonic! Sonic?" He looked back at Sonic, who was still asleep. " Sonic!" He picked up Sonic and began to shake him. Sonic propped up his ears and slowly opened his eyes. " Hey, Knuckles. What happened?" " I don't know but it doesn't look good." he said pointing over at Orange and Tails. Sonic sat up quickly. " What's she doing!" They watched in amazement as Orange's wings slowly disinigrated. " I've done all I can. The rest is up to you." she said, right before passing out. Sonic and Knuckles ran over to them quickly and helped them up. Knuckles sat down, holding Orange in his arms, closely. Sonic shook Tails gently, trying to wake him up. Tails slowly opened his eyes and looked up at Sonic. " Hey, Sonic." " Hey, little buddy. You alright?" Sonic said, looking over his body. " I didn't think this was possible. You actually are able to go super!" Eggman yelled out. " WHAT! How is it that you could have lived!" They stared back at Eggman. " Sonic! You've been through enough today! Let me finish off Eggman!" Tails responded, standing up. He stood, ready to fight again. Sonic looked up and said, " Tails, try to concentrate some of your energy on forming some kind of weapon." Tails nodded. " Alright. I'll try." He closed his eyes and concentrated on forming a sword. After about a minute of this, he managed to form a blue energy sword. " Good, Tails! Now attack!" Tails charged at full speed and sliced through the machine. It was just then that Knuckles realized that the M.E. was still in the slot of the machine. He yelled out, " Wait, Tails! We forgot the-" He was cut off by a large explosion however and Eggman, along with the M.E., was sent flying out of sight. It hit Tails hard and he colapsed. Before losing conciousness, he grabbed a small container that flew out of Eggman's Egg Carrier. Just then, a voice came from behind them. " It looks like you guys could use some help."

A/N: Sorry but I have to end there for now. Please send more reviews and I forgot to thank all of you who reviewed earlier so Thank You! Hope you all enjoyed that chapter and that you'll all enjoy the next chapter too. Chapter 6 : Recovery. cya!


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: OMG! I'm back and updating! It's a miracle! Sorry it has been a while but it's harder now that school has started. Hopefully it won't take me as long to type this as it took me to write it. Anyways, I must tell you all that the next couple of chapters involve more romance and a bit more fighting, however, not with Eggman. You'll see! Now to get started with the next chapter. Disclaimer: Do I really need to keep reminding you all who I own and who I don't own?

Chapter 6: Recovery

Angel Island- 11:15 a.m.

"It looks like you guys could use some help." said a voice from behind them. Sonic and Knuckles looked over quickly at the owner of this voice. They were shoked at who it was and responded at the same time. "SHADOW!" Sure enough it was him. He stepped out from the shadows and stood in full view with the M.E. in his hands. They smiled and quickly launched off a ton of questions for him to answer. " Hey, you guys! Slow down! I'll explain everything...just...ask me one question at a time." Knuckles quickly layed Orange down and ran over to him to grab the M.E. "How did you get this!" Shadow explained. " I was on my way to see you guys after months of searching when all of a sudden I saw Eggman being blasted away from a huge explosion. That's when I saw a green emerald, the M.E., falling from the sky and I knew you guys must be close by. I thought you guys might be having some trouble so I quickly caught the M.E. before it fell and broke again and then I guess I just found you guys." "Well, thanks for bringing it back." Knuckles said, staring down at it. Sonic quickly cut in. " Wait just a minute! How the hell is it that you could have lived! We all saw you fall into space! Nobody could have survived that!" " Well, if you have to know, it appears that I also ' die hard.' I am the ultimate life form after all. I can fill you in later with more information but for now, don't you think we should get Tails and...umm...your friend to a doctor?" Knuckles looked at Sonic and nodded. " He's right, Sonic! We shouldn't waist anymore time!" They then left in a hurry to get to the nearest hospital in town.

It only took them about ten minutes to finally reach a hospital in Station Square. Orange and Tails were instantly taken in to recieve medical care and be given a room. Sonic, Knuckles, and Shadow were asked to sit in the waiting room. Knuckles wanted to stay in the room with Orange because she had lost a lot of blood but they insisted that he should wait in the waiting room. They explained that they needed to undress her to care for and bandage the three major wounds. She had two gun shots, one to her left shoulder and another to her right side. There was also a large cut across her back where her wings had been. So they talked while waiting. " So you and Orange spent the entire night out at the shrine of the M.E.?" Sonic asked. " Yeah, I guess." Knuckles said. Sonic looked away for a second and then back at him. " Did you guys have se-" Knuckles cut in sharply, " Of course not, you sick pervert!"

Before long, a doctor came in to talk to them. " Your friends are in stable conditions now. The girl is sleeping and the boy woke up a few minutes ago. He only had a broken leg and a few fractures. If you'd like to, you can visit now." They looked up, thanked the doctor, and walked to the rooms to doctor gave them. They first stopped by Orange's room. Knuckles looked at Orange sadly and then asked in a hesitant voice, " Do you know when she'll wake up?" The doctor replied, " I'm sorry. But we can't be sure of exactly when she'll wake up. It could be any minute now or a few hours or even days." Knuckles sighed out loud and turned away from everybody in the room. " This is all my fault." he said, closing his eyes and fighting back all the emotions welling up in him. Sonic walked over to him and placed a hand on his shoulder while looking sadly at Orange. " Hey, pal. Don't beat yourself up over this. It wasn't your fault. It was Eggman's fault and we'll make him pay. I promise." Knuckles lifted his head and looked at Sonic, managing to smile a little bit. " Thanks, Sonic." "Hey, Knux. Do you want to come with us to see Tails?" " No thanks. I just want to stay a little longer. I'll catch up later." Sonic and Shadow walked toward the door. " Alright. Tell us if you need anything." "Okay. Tell Tails to get well soon." As they were beginning down the hall they yelled back, " Will do, Knuckles."

Sonic and Shadow walked into Tails' room. Tails looked up from what he was doing and sat in bed. " Sonic! SHADOW! I thought you were dead!" " It's a long story. I'll explain later." Tails looked around. " Hey! Where is Knuckles! I needed to tell him and you something important, Sonic!" " He's back in Orange's room. Do you want me to go get him?" Shadow asked. " Yes! Please! Hurry back!" Sonic looked at him a little worried. " Something wrong, little buddy?" Before Tails could answer, Sonic fell to his knees and clutched his head. " Owww...my head...what's happening!" " SONIC!" Tails yelled out as he pulled himself up to Sonic who collapsed to the floor. Shadow was already out the door and had not realized what had just happened. Knuckles sat at Orange's bed side, holding her hand. " Please be okay, Orange. I promise that we'll get back at Eggman for this. I'll be back soon. I need to see Tails quickly." Knuckles then got up and started walking down the hall when suddenly he was gripped by a sick feeling. " Ugh! I'm feeling dizzy all of a sudden! I think I'm going to lose my lunch!" he said falling over on the floor and grabbing his stomache. Shadow was half way down the hall when he saw Knuckles fall over. He quickly ran over to him yelling out. "KNUCKLES!" Hey! Are you okay!" Knuckles just looked up with one eye open and whispered, " No...I...I feel really sick right now." " Here...Let me help you back to Tails' room." he said helping him to his feet.

Back in Tails' room, Tails had layed Sonic on the floor and helped hold him up. Just then Shadow burst through the door holding Knuckles. " TAILS! SONIC! Something is wrong with Knuckles!" He stopped speaking when he saw Sonic on the floor. " I know! They were poisoned by some dart that Eggman attacked with. I managed to grab a container I found after Eggman's ship exploded. It had some pills in it that I think can serve as an antidote." So they gave a pill to both Sonic and Knuckles. " I hope this will work. They may still need a day of rest though."

Fortunately for Knuckles and Sonic, they did recover within a day, however, Orange wasn't that lucky. She was still unconcious. Knuckles stayed by her bed side for another two days with little sleep at all. It was 10:00 p.m. one night and Knuckles was beginning to drift into sleep when suddenly he heard a voice say very lowly, " Knuckles?" His eyes opened widely when he realized that there was nobody in the room with him but Orange. He looked over at her and saw a pair of weak green eyes staring at him. "ORANGE! You're okay!" She was a little confused at first and asked where she was. " You're in the hospital. You've been asleep for the last three days. I was starting to worry that you would never wake up." Orange shot up in bed but a sharp pain in her head made her fall back in bed, holding her head. " You might not want to try sitting up right away after being in bed so long." Orange looked at Knuckles and then at her bandages around her body. She quickly grabbed the covers and pulled them back over her body yelling out. " Where are my clothes!" " Don't worry! They're on the chair on the other side of the bed! I promise I didn't look!" Orange managed to smile at Knuckles and relaxed again. " The last thing I remember before passing out was Tails getting really hurt. Is he okay?" " Don't worry. He's fine thanks to you." " I'll bet you guys are just wondering why I sprouted wings." Knuckles smiled at her. " I was kind of wondering that." " Well, I owe you an explination. You see, I was born with wings and so were my brother and father. My wings and my brother's wings disappeared shortly after. My wings have only returned twice, including the other day. I suppose now, that my wings only appear when I'm in a life threatening situation. Because my brother's never returned, he's never been in a situation like that I guess. However, my father's were out all the time. He could control his. They especially came out when he was with my mother. I guess he was just trying to show off. He said that one day I would be like him and I always wondered why he called me his ' Little Angel.' I should stop there for now." Knuckles stared at her in awe. " Wow. That's pretty awesome." Orange smiled at him but stopped quickly when she saw him get up. She asked in a worried voice, " Knuckles! Where...Where are you going!" He smiled at her and said calmly, " I'm just going to go find a bathroom and tell the others that you are okay and awake." he said , turning to leave. Before he could get far though, Orange grabbed his arm. He turned back toward her, a little annoyed and said, " Orange, let g-" He stopped short when he saw Orange with her eyes shut tightly, trying to fight back some tears and shaking. " Please, don't go, Knuckles! I don't want to be left alone in this place! Not after the last time I was here! My parents had just died and my brother wasn't allowed to stay with me! He was immediately taken to an orphanage! I was all alone and for the next couple of weeks I had to hear dying victims scream all through the night! I just don't want to be left alone again! PLEASE!" Knuckles stood staring at her with pity in his eyes. He walked back to her and kneeled at the side of the bed. He took her hand and squeezed it tightly. She looked at him. He took one hand and began to wipe the tears out of her eyes. " Hey, I'll be right back. And if you get scared, I'll be here to hold your hand through it and I won't let go until it's over." She looked into his eyes and blushed. " You promise?" He smiled at her and blushed also. " I promise." he said leaning over her and placing a gentle kiss on her cheek. " I promise."

A/N: Wow! That was way longer than I thought it would be! I can't believe I just took the time to begin and finish typing this chapter but at least now I can go on to the next chapter! Please review! I only got one for my last chapter! Next chapter: Chapter 7- True Love.


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: Wow, it's been a long time since I've last updated! But OMG! What is this! It looks like chapter 7! I am so proud of myself for getting this far in my story! I'm sorry about the long wait but I've been working on a new story plus the amount of homework I'm given is unbelievable. I have two essays due Friday and I haven't even begun one of them. Plus, I have work in other classes to work on because all my teachers hate me but oh well. Yes, I'm a procrastinator and I'll be up late working on both of my essays and extra homework but I'm lazy and I want to update this story first. Anyways, this next chapter is where the real romance comes in! Once again, there is no fighting in this chapter. Nevertheless, I hope you all enjoy this next chapter. It's one of my favorites to write. Well, I'll get started now. Disclaimer: I wish I owned Knuckles and Shadow but, I only own Orange.

Chapter 7: True Love

Angel Island- 3:00 p.m.

It was two weeks after Orange and Tails had been first hospitalized. They were actually only there for about a week. They spent a lot of their time resting after that. Orange stayed at Tails' house while he spent most of his time in his workshop. Tikal had gone back to her own time for rest. Knuckles had went back to watching the M.E. but still went to visit Orange every day. Shadow was staying with Sonic.

One day, when Orange was feeling bored from being in bed for so long, she decided to go visit Knuckles. She ran about half of the way to the shrine of the M.E. before she had to rest. She was still in a bit of pain from the two gun shots and, she had to slow her pace down to a walk for the rest of the way there. It was not too long before she had reached the shrine of the M.E. The shrine was round so she could walk around it. Knuckles had not noticed her first arrival. He seemed to be falling asleep. He sat at the bottom step of the shrine with his elbow on his knee and his head resting in his hand. His eyes were staring down at the ground, almost in a daze, and only half open. That's when Orange began to formulate a plan in her mind. She sneaked around the shrine and climbed up the top. She then began her way down the steps, approaching Knuckles form behind. When she reached a good position, she pounced at him, yelling out, " KNUCKLES!" His eyes suddenly snapped open and, he turned just in time to see Orange jumping at him. The next thing he knew, he was on the ground with a sharp pain in his head. Orange was sitting on top of him, laughing a bit. He gave her a compassionate smile and thought to himself. He liked the outfit she was wearing. He thought it looked cute on her. She had on a light purple shirt and some light blue overalls. She also wore a pair of blue shoes with a white stripe going up them and some white socks underneath. However, the only thing he could think to say at that moment was, " Shouldn't you be in bed resting?" Orange got off of him to let him sit up and sat next to him with a simple response. " I'll be just fine. I've been in bed for so long, I can't even remember the last time I was able to get out and enjoy nature."

She leaned against Knuckles and embraced him in a small hug. " I want to see the stars again. Just like that first night we were together. Do you remember? It would be really nice, don't you think?" He suddenly stood up and said, " Follow me." She looked up at him a little confused. " Knuckles? Where are you going?" He just bent over, grabbed her hands, and helped her to her feet. " I just want you to follow me." he said, smiling at her. " But, Knuckles, where are we going?" she asked, as he pulled her along. He didn't answer but just continued pulling her faster. She began to get scared as they wandered into unfamiliar parts of the island. She began to panic a bit and say in a worried voice, " Knuckles, please tell me where you're taking me! I don't like it here!" He looked back at her and said calmly, " We're almost there." " Where!" she asked, starting to get a little pissed off. " I want to know where you're taking me! And why are you pulling me so hard! It hurts! Please, stop! I really don't want to go much further! I'm still in pain from those bullet wounds! Can't we rest or at least go slower! I'm having trouble breathing!" It wasn't until Orange held her hand against the wound in her side and almost lost her footing running, that Knuckles allowed her to catch her breath. As soon as they stopped, she pulled her wrist from his grip and began to rub it. " I'm sorry, Orange. But we should get going now!" he said, scooping her up in his arms and continuing to run. At that, she started yelling and struggling to get away from him. " Knuckles! Why are you being such a jerk! I liked you better before! Why can't you just go back to normal!" However, the only thing he noticed at the time was the sun beginning to set.

About five minutes later, they finally reached their destination. He put Orange, who was still struggling, on the ground. She ran a few feet away from him before falling to her knees and crying. "Why did you do that, Knuckles?" she managed to whimper out before falling silent from seeing the surrounding area. They were in an open area with lots of soft grass. There was a cliff next to a small lake with a waterfall emptying into it. She stood up and looked in amazement at the shimmering water that the last rays of sun light left behind. The water was crystal clear and a soft, warm breeze blew a gentle spray from the waterfall into her face. It seemed cool and refreshing. She looked over at Knuckles, who just smiled over at her warmly. "I come here to think sometimes. I only just realized that this is one of the best spots on the whole island to see the stars." With that said, he walked over to an area in the grass that had a small campfire set up. He lit it and sat down on a log in front of the fire. Orange walked over and sat down next to him. " It's beautiful here." " I thought you would like it here. Nobody else knows about this place. Well…actually…now you know too."

They stayed quiet for a long time, until the stars came out. First, there was one, then ten, and soon, hundreds had filled the sky. The reflection of the stars in the water comforted her. She thanked Knuckles for taking her there. She didn't want the night to end. She leaned against Knuckles and relaxed. Knuckles was still thinking to himself. "I have that mysterious feeling again. I didn't want to admit it at first, but I think Sonic was right. I think I do love Orange. And I think Orange feels the same way about me as I feel about her." Orange's thoughts were close to the same as his. " I wonder why he always grows so quiet when he's alone with me. Maybe he's figured out how I feel about him! And yet, strangely enough, I get the feeling he likes me just as much as I like him."

At about 10:00 p.m., it was pitch black out with the only light being that from the stars and campfire, but even the fire was beginning to fail. All Orange could think about was that she didn't want the moment to end. She wanted to make the most of her time with Knuckles but was discouraged when she discovered that he was once again beginning to fall asleep. Probably because of all the long nights he spent watching the M. E. while Tikal was gone. This time, however, she didn't want to allow sleep to ruin the moment. She did the first thing that came to mind that would keep him awake. She quickly grabbed Knuckles and pushed his off the log onto his back and sat on him. At the moment, she didn't care what the consequences were. This action did wake him up quickly. He looked up at Orange in confusion, thinking she was just playing and would get off him soon. However, she just continued to lean in toward him. His dark, purple eyes made contact with her emerald green eyes as she approached slowly. The next thing he knew, her lips were pushed up against his own. He was a little surprised at first, but soon he just went with it. He began to kiss her back as he felt her soft hands beginning to slowly rub his body. She broke off the kiss and started to set a trail of soft kisses over his face and down his neck. Knuckles also began to let his hands wander across her body. He didn't want to do anything too inappropriate at first so he just felt along the curves of her body. She cooed in delight at first and tried to encourage him to touch him to touch her in a few different spots. She let her own delicate fingers drag lower along his body. He went ahead and began to kiss her neck roughly. She threw her head back just a bit and grabbed his hand and led them to where she wanted him to touch. First, she sat up and unhooked her overalls and let the top half fall off. She pushed his hands up the back of her shirt to where her bra was and whispered to him, " Unhook it." He did as he was told and Orange sat up again to pull her shirt off. Once her top half was exposed, something unexpected happened. A set of new wings appeared only this time they were different. They left no cuts along her back; there wasn't a drop of blood on them, and instead of being feathery they were just fluffy. They were almost transparent in appearance. However, the two lovers were too involved in each other to ask any questions. Knuckles quickly flipped Orange onto her back and he continued in undressing her. He pulled her shoes off and slid her overalls all the way off. He lay on top of her for mostly the rest of the night without changing positions much in the night. After many hours of this they finally fell asleep in the grass, with the lit up sky above them, and the only covering they had being her wings which she wrapped around them when it began to get cold.

The next morning, sunlight came pouring in on them. Orange was the first to wake up and seeing that Knuckles was still asleep next to her, she took the opportunity to take a quick bath in the water. She walked into the refreshing water slowly until it was up to her waist. It was at that moment that she heard a voice behind her. "How you can stand that cold water, I can not understand." Orange turned around in complete embarrassment and her face turned a dark red. Knuckles was sitting up staring at her. Orange quickly took up a handful of rocks and began pelting them at him and yelling. "Knuckles, you pervert! I never said you could look at me when I'm bathing! I can't believe you, you jerk!" Knuckles quickly ducked and covered as it began to rain rocks down on his head. "Alright! Alright! I'm sorry! I won't look up again!"

Shortly after Orange had finished her bath and gotten dressed, she and Knuckles walked slowly back to the shrine. After they were back, Orange decided to head back to Tails' house so he wouldn't worry too much. Before she could leave though, Knuckles grabbed Orange and gave her a quick kiss. She blushed as he said, " I love you." She then responded, "I love you, too."

A/N: I have an announcement about this last chapter! I'm really sorry for anybody that wants me to continue but this last chapter was a condensed version of what I'm going to do! The next chapter will be another version of this only in lemon form! This is so all the lemon lovers can enjoy this story too! I'm sorry for those who hate lemons but want to keep on reading! You'll have to wait for chapter 9 to continue. However, for those who love lemons, enjoy chapter 8! I'll have it up soon. Chapter 8:**Lemon!** p.s.- I haven't written a lemon in a long time so it may suck but I'll do my best! Please review soon and maybe I'll even put up a lemon story for all you lemon lovers. It will just be about different characters having sex! Well, I'll see you all later! Bye!


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: Hello, everybody! It's the moment that all you lemon lovers have been waiting for. Chapter 8 : **LEMON!** Like I said before, this is a rewrite of chapter 7only with a lemon. The lemon will be toward the middle of this chapter, and I will give a little warning when we reach that spot. I only want lemon lovers and people that just like lemons to read this. If you hate lemons, there is a simple solution to your problem. DON'T READ IT! You'll just have to wait until chapter 9. I don't want any bad reviews from someone stupid enough to read something that they hate. In the case that somebody does send in a bad review for this reason, I shall be forced to hunt them down , kill them, and devour their soul! Now that I've finished making threats, I'll begin now! I suggest that people under the age of 17 don't read this. (18 for the SOTC) Disclaimer- How many freaking times do I have to tell you all that I only own Orange!

Chapter 8: Lemon!

Angel Island- 3:00 p.m.

It was two weeks after Orange and Tails had been first hospitalized. They were actually only there for about a week. They spent a lot of their time resting after that. Orange stayed at Tails' house while he spent most of his time in his workshop. Tikal had gone back to her own time for rest. Knuckles had went back to watching the M.E. but still went to visit Orange every day. Shadow was staying with Sonic.

One day, when Orange was feeling bored from being in bed for so long, she decided to go visit Knuckles. She ran about half of the way to the shrine of the M.E. before she had to rest. She was still in a bit of pain from the two gun shots and, she had to slow her pace down to a walk for the rest of the way there. It was not too long before she had reached the shrine of the M.E. The shrine was round so she could walk around it. Knuckles had not noticed her first arrival. He seemed to be falling asleep. He sat at the bottom step of the shrine with his elbow on his knee and his head resting in his hand. His eyes were staring down at the ground, almost in a daze, and only half open. That's when Orange began to formulate a plan in her mind. She sneaked around the shrine and climbed up the top. She then began her way down the steps, approaching Knuckles form behind. When she reached a good position, she pounced at him, yelling out, " KNUCKLES!" His eyes suddenly snapped open and, he turned just in time to see Orange jumping at him. The next thing he knew, he was on the ground with a sharp pain in his head. Orange was sitting on top of him, laughing a bit. He gave her a compassionate smile and thought to himself. He liked the outfit she was wearing. He thought it looked cute on her. She had on a light purple shirt and some light blue overalls. She also wore a pair of blue shoes with a white stripe going up them and some white socks underneath. However, the only thing he could think to say at that moment was, " Shouldn't you be in bed resting?" Orange got off of him to let him sit up and sat next to him with a simple response. " I'll be just fine. I've been in bed for so long, I can't even remember the last time I was able to get out and enjoy nature."

She leaned against Knuckles and embraced him in a small hug. " I want to see the stars again. Just like that first night we were together. Do you remember? It would be really nice, don't you think?" He suddenly stood up and said, " Follow me." She looked up at him a little confused. " Knuckles? Where are you going?" He just bent over, grabbed her hands, and helped her to her feet. " I just want you to follow me." he said, smiling at her. " But, Knuckles, where are we going?" she asked, as he pulled her along. He didn't answer but just continued pulling her faster. She began to get scared as they wandered into unfamiliar parts of the island. She began to panic a bit and say in a worried voice, " Knuckles, please tell me where you're taking me! I don't like it here!" He looked back at her and said calmly, " We're almost there." " Where!" she asked, starting to get a little pissed off. " I want to know where you're taking me! And why are you pulling me so hard! It hurts! Please, stop! I really don't want to go much further! I'm still in pain from those bullet wounds! Can't we rest or at least go slower! I'm having trouble breathing!" It wasn't until Orange held her hand against the wound in her side and almost lost her footing running, that Knuckles allowed her to catch her breath. As soon as they stopped, she pulled her wrist from his grip and began to rub it. " I'm sorry, Orange. But we should get going now!" he said, scooping her up in his arms and continuing to run. At that, she started yelling and struggling to get away from him. " Knuckles! Why are you being such a jerk! I liked you better before! Why can't you just go back to normal!" However, the only thing he noticed at the time was the sun beginning to set.

About five minutes later, they finally reached their destination. He put Orange, who was still struggling, on the ground. She ran a few feet away from him before falling to her knees and crying. "Why did you do that, Knuckles?" she managed to whimper out before falling silent from seeing the surrounding area. They were in an open area with lots of soft grass. There was a cliff next to a small lake with a waterfall emptying into it. She stood up and looked in amazement at the shimmering water that the last rays of sun light left behind. The water was crystal clear and a soft, warm breeze blew a gentle spray from the waterfall into her face. It seemed cool and refreshing. She looked over at Knuckles, who just smiled over at her warmly. "I come here to think sometimes. I only just realized that this is one of the best spots on the whole island to see the stars." With that said, he walked over to an area in the grass that had a small campfire set up. He lit it and sat down on a log in front of the fire. Orange walked over and sat down next to him. " It's beautiful here." " I thought you would like it here. Nobody else knows about this place. Well…actually…now you know too."

They stayed quiet for a long time, until the stars came out. First, there was one, then ten, and soon, hundreds had filled the sky. The reflection of the stars in the water comforted her. She thanked Knuckles for taking her there. She didn't want the night to end. She leaned against Knuckles and relaxed. Knuckles was still thinking to himself. "I have that mysterious feeling again. I didn't want to admit it at first, but I think Sonic was right. I think I do love Orange. And I think Orange feels the same way about me as I feel about her." Orange's thoughts were close to the same as his. " I wonder why he always grows so quiet when he's alone with me. Maybe he's figured out how I feel about him! And yet, strangely enough, I get the feeling he likes me just as much as I like him."

(Lemon Warning! Here's where I'll start the lemon! Enjoy!)

At about 10:00 p.m., it was pitch black out with the only light being that from the stars and campfire, but even the fire was beginning to fail. All Orange could think about was that she didn't want the moment to end. She wanted to make the most of her time with Knuckles but was discouraged when she discovered that he was once again beginning to fall asleep. Probably because of all the long nights he spent watching the M. E. while Tikal was gone. This time, however, she didn't want to allow sleep to ruin the moment. She did the first thing that came to mind that would keep him awake. She quickly grabbed Knuckles and pushed his off the log onto his back and sat on him. At the moment, she didn't care what the consequences were. This action did wake him up quickly. He looked up at Orange in confusion, thinking she was just playing and would get off him soon. However, she just continued to lean in toward him. His dark, purple eyes made contact with her emerald green eyes as she approached slowly. The next thing he knew, her lips were pushed up against his own. He was a little surprised at first, but soon he just went with it. He began to kiss her back as he felt her soft hands beginning to slowly rub his body. She broke off the kiss and started to set a trail of soft kisses over his face and down his neck. Knuckles also began to let his hands wander across her body. He didn't want to do anything too inappropriate at first so he just felt along the curves of her body. She cooed in delight at first and tried to encourage him to touch him to touch her in a few different spots. She let her own delicate fingers drag lower along his body. He went ahead and began to kiss her neck roughly. She threw her head back just a bit and grabbed his hand and led them to where she wanted him to touch. First, she sat up and unhooked her overalls and let the top half fall off. She pushed his hands up the back of her shirt to where her bra was and whispered to him, " Unhook it." He did as he was told and Orange sat up again to pull her shirt off. Once her top half was exposed, something unexpected happened. A set of new wings appeared only this time they were different. They left no cuts along her back; there wasn't a drop of blood on them, and instead of being feathery they were just fluffy. They were almost transparent in appearance. However, the two lovers were too involved in each other to ask any questions.

Orange lay back down, flat on her back. She pulled his hands closer to her breast and pushed them close to her. To be perfectly honest, Knuckles had never really had any physical contact with women in this way. He was still a virgin, but at times he didn't want to admit it to his friends. The contact was a little too much for him at first, and he began to breath heavily and blush uncontrollably. Orange saw this and sat up to give him a gentle kiss on the head. He began to relax as she whispered gentle words to him. She lay back again after his breathing had gone back to normal. She pulled his hands up against her breasts again for another try, and this time they had more success. He started by gently squeezing them. Orange moaned in a low voice. Knuckles pulled her back towards him and began to kiss her face gently. He kissed her down to her chin and continued going lower. Before long he had reached her soft breasts. He proceeded to kiss her gently there. He let his tongue glide along the soft surface to her nipple. He clamped his lips over one of her nipples and began to suck on it gently, like a baby trying to get milk. He let his tongue continue to circle around the nipple a few times before finally ending in a kiss. He then went to her other nipple and repeated the process. This produced many happy coos and a few low sounding moans from Orange. They did this for a while before Knuckles stopped to continue undressing her. He pulled her shoes off and slipped her overalls all the way off until the only thing that she had left on were her panties and socks.

Before continuing, he asked her in a low voice that was beginning to sound horny, " Do you want me to stop now, play with you a bit, or just go all the way right now?" She smiled up at him and answered, "Play with me a bit more then go all the way. It isn't fun if you do it all at once. I'll tell you when I'm ready for you." She said this and then pulled his head closer to her and gave him another long lasting kiss on the lips. She pushed her tongue into his mouth and against his tongue and he did the same. After a minute of letting their tongues get tangled together, Orange finally broke off the kiss to catch her breath. While she was taking the time to catch her breath, Knuckles began to kiss her again, beginning right under her breast. He kissed his way around her stomach and belly-button. He continued along the trail he had made on Orange's lower body. He reached her sweet smelling panties and inhaled deeply. He looked at her and she nodded at him. "Continue slowly but play with me some more." He smiled back at her with some lust in his eyes before proceeding to drag her panties down her legs. He pulled his gloves off and began to finger her lightly. She squealed a bit in delight. He pushed one of his fingers along until in went down inside of her. He pushed his finger all the way in. When he had reached the limit of how far he could reach inside her, he slowly let another finger enter in the same spot and then another. He was surprised he could fit three finger up in her, but decided not to put in any more. He let his finger feel along the in walls of her, and he would flex them every once in a while, leaving an opening. This caused Orange to squeal out a bit louder. He pulled his hand back and brushed up against her "sweet spot" in the process. This caused her to cum a little bit. Seeing this, Knuckles went down to lick it up. He placed his tongue delicately in her, going as deep as he could. He hoped to find more liquids he could lap up. Orange squirmed around as the wet surface of his tongue slid inside her. The sensation caused her to cum again, spilling out on his face. He licked the sweet tasting liquid that dripped from the side of his mouth happily.

Orange sat up after Knuckles had pulled out of her. She pushed him onto his back and said in a seductive tone of voice, "Now it's your turn." She stood up to switch positions. She sat on his chest and bent down over his member. She took it up in her mouth. Knuckles let his head drop back as Orange worked vigorously to suck on him. He blushed and let out a series of moans. Orange engulfed the entire thing into her mouth and let her tongue slide all along it. She circled her tongue around the tip of his shaft continuously. She took it back into her mouth as she felt it beginning to pulsate. He reached his peak and allowed his own fluids to ejaculate partly into Orange's mouth. She swallowed some of it and let the rest seep out of the corners of her mouth. Some of it rolled down her face to her chest. Knuckles pulled out of her, while a few stray spurts left Orange's stomach wet.

There were parts of her soft fur that were patched down. Knuckles took her and placed her back on her back as he stood over her, smiling. She smiled at him a little evilly. "Alright, I'm ready for you now." she said as Knuckles came back down on his knees, leaning over Orange. He pinned her down with his hands as he moved into the right position to enter her. She spread her legs far apart so he could make his way inside her. He began slowly, pushing in. Orange moaned out loud as his huge shaft made its entrance. Before long, his shaft was almost up all the way inside of her. He forced his way in and finally reached his limit. Being all the way inside of her, he bent down low to kiss on the lip. He let her arms free, and she gripped the grass for a few seconds to adjust. When she became comfortable, she wrapped her arms around Knuckles' back and pulled him in closer to her. They continued to kiss for what seemed like an eternity before they broke off to catch their breaths again. Feeling bored after a while, Knuckles began slowly take himself out of her and then before pulling out all the way, thrust back in. His thrusts were slow at first but soon became faster as Orange tried to match her breathing and movements with him. They soon reached a speed that was hard for Orange to keep up with so she just lay back and let Knuckles do all the work. Every thrust caused her to come closer and closer to masturbating. He would brush up against her "sweet spot" which was starting to become over stimulated. Knuckles too was close to reaching his climax. She clamped her inner walls over his member when she couldn't take any more. "Oh, God, Knuckles! I think I'm going to cum!" She came just as she said this and Knuckles also felt himself come inside of her. A warm jet of sperm flew out of him into her. He also exclaimed something when he buried his seed inside of her. "Holy…Crap!…" He almost collapsed on her when this happened. Some of his juices came out mixed with her as he pulled out of her. It dripped off the tip of his member and the rest had either dripped down Orange's legs or spilled out on the grass. He fell back on his back next to Orange in complete exhaustion. Orange turned over to him and wrapped her arms around his neck as they breathed heavily. They didn't speak for the rest of the night. After many hours of this they finally fell asleep in the grass, with the lit up sky above them, and the only covering they had being her wings which she wrapped around them when it began to get cold.

The next morning, sunlight came pouring in on them. Orange was the first to wake up and seeing that Knuckles was still asleep next to her, she took the opportunity to take a quick bath in the water. She walked into the refreshing water slowly until it was up to her waist. It was at that moment that she heard a voice behind her. "How you can stand that cold water, I can not understand." Orange turned around in complete embarrassment and her face turned a dark red. Knuckles was sitting up staring at her. Orange quickly took up a handful of rocks and began pelting them at him and yelling. "Knuckles, you pervert! I never said you could look at me when I'm bathing! I can't believe you, you jerk!" Knuckles quickly ducked and covered as it began to rain rocks down on his head. "Alright! Alright! I'm sorry! I won't look up again!"

Shortly after Orange had finished her bath and gotten dressed, she and Knuckles walked slowly back to the shrine. They didn't talk much on the way back. Orange commented him when the M.E. was in sight. "You did pretty well last night for the first time. Next time I'll have to show you some other moves I know." Knuckles blushed. "How did you know it was my first time?" She smiled at him. "You were fidgeting a lot when I was sucking on your dick. It was pretty obvious." He looked down at the ground a little embarrassed. "And it wasn't your first time last night, was it?" Orange turned a bit pale. "No…I would rather not talk about it. I have never slept with anybody else on purpose. I was either forced to or only did it to gather bits of information." Knuckles smiled a little at her. "Oh…I see… I'll shut up now." Orange laughed at him and smiled.

After they were back, Orange decided to head back to Tails' house so he wouldn't worry too much. Before she could leave though, Knuckles grabbed Orange and gave her a quick kiss. She blushed as he said, " I love you." She then responded, "I love you, too."

A/N: There's my lemon for you all! I hope you enjoyed it because I spent practically all of my New Year's Day writing it. Not to mention that it was my last vacation day before I have to head back to school again. It's 9:00 at night and I still have to finish some homework for tomorrow. Well, I'll continue the story a little later on this month (or next month) when my finals are over. Next chapter will be Chapter 9: The Kiss. Bye


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: Chapter 9! Chapter 9! I reached Chapter 9! It's a miracle! Usually, I stop somewhere around Chapter 7 on most of my other stories and have a hard time picking up from where I last left off. I'll get started now. Disclaimer: After that last chapter, I want Knuckles more than ever! Sadly, I only own Orange. Enjoy.  
P.S.- I want to thank snakey102 for sending me a review. I wasn't going to review until I got at least one review for that last chapter. I almost thought I was going to give up on this story but here I am, UPDATING! So I hope you all enjoy this particularly long chapter I've made for you.

Chapter 9: The Kiss

Angel Island: 9:00a.m. ( Actually, this begins in a dark alley in Station Square.)

A shadowy figure stands in a dark alley. Two dark forms approach the waiting figure. One of the two forms asked in a low voice, "We have given you two weeks to consider our offer. Do you agree to our terms? We are willing to pay any amount of money to get what we want. Money is not an object." The figure stepped forward. "Keep your money! I'll do the job. There's a treasure I have been trying to get for years now, and I think I know a way I can get it at the same time I do this job." The second form then spoke up. "Agreed! The target is now expected to be on Angel Island. Here is a picture." The figure then spread out a pair of bat wings. "Perfect." The figure flew up into the light revealing herself to be none other than Rouge the Bat. She then flew off toward the island.

Back on the island, Orange was running around Tails' place panicking. "Oh, God, no! Oh, God, no! Oh, God, no!" she repeated out loud to herself as Tails just watched her running back and forth. "Hey, Orange. What's wrong?" She stopped and smiled weakly at him. "It's nothing, Tails. I just lost something." She ran into the bathroom and closed the door. Tails followed and asked through the door, "Well maybe I can help you find it?" She ran back out the door and headed outside. "Thanks, Tails. But I don't think you would be able to find it." She quickly ran down the path leading to the M.E. before Tails could ask what she was looking for.

She slowed down when she could no longer see his house. She whispered to herself as she continued down the path. "Besides, Tails. It's not an object. I lost it two weeks ago. I lost my virginity to Knuckles. Well, kind of. I've been on this island for a little bit over a month, and I'm pregnant." She stopped for a moment. "What am I going to tell Knuckles!" She found herself caught in a trap. She continued along her way even slower. Partly because she was beginning to feel sick, and she also did not want to tell Knuckles. She tried to think rapidly of what she should tell Knuckles. She was almost half way there when she stopped to rest again. About a day or two before she had already begun to feel sick. The sick feeling hit her again, worse than before. She held her stomach in an attempt to make herself feel better. It was no use though. In a matter of seconds, she found herself running to a bush and throwing up. She was on the ground for about a minute unable to stop throwing up. When she had finally stopped, she fell back to a sitting position on the ground. She held her head as she began to sob to herself. "I can't do this! Not alone! I can't live like this for another 9 months!" (A/N: I started typing this chapter out a long time ago and this is as far as I got. So for the rest, since I've had more practice with other fics I'm writing right now, I promise to do better spacing. ;;;)

She continued to cry for another 15 minutes before she got up and continued on her way to where Knuckles was at. She wiped the tears out of her eyes, trying to be strong. "Okay, I can't stop myself from having this baby. It's already too late. I have to tell Knuckles. It wouldn't be fair to the baby if I didn't. I don't want my child to be fatherless. But, then again, it isn't fair to Knuckles either. He's still young and carefree and he already has to watch the M.E. But I'm still young, younger than Knuckles and I can't do this alone. (Knuckles is 19 in this story.) I'm just going to tell him, and if he rejects me and the baby, I'll go back to living with my brother. That's the best I can do" she said wiping the last of her tears out of her eyes. " I hope he doesn't hate me. If only I hadn't encouraged him to sleep with me that night. This is all my fault."

Just arriving on the island was Rouge. She flew off as fast as she could to the shrine of the M.E. Being that she could fly, she managed to reach the M.E. before Orange. When she could see Knuckles in plain sight, she began her first objective. Get Knuckles' attention.

She spiraled down to the ground and made a landing that looked painful but in reality caused no harm to Rouge. Knuckles ran to her just as she had planned he would do. He approached and stopped when he recognized who she was. He helped her up. "Batgirl! What are you doing here! And what happened!" Rouge looked up at him.

"Knu…Knuckles? Is that you?" she said in the weakest voice she could make. She then pretended to pass out.

"Rouge!" he yelled as he dragged her back to the shrine. She opened one eye and looked up at him as he tried to help her sit up.

"Knuckles….I got a branch caught in my wings and I crashed here." He examined her carefully.

"Huh…That's funny. I don't see a branch in your wings. It must be gone now. Come to think of it, you don't seem to be hurt. I can't see any marks on you. So…what are you doing here?" Rouge quickly flung herself into Knuckles' arms and faked crying.

"Oh, Knuckles! I was just coming to see you because I've been so lonely since the Ark incident a few years ago! I never told you how I truly felt about you! The truth is I loved you and still do!" Before Knuckles could respond , she threw her lips against his. Knuckles was caught completely off guard and before he could push Rouge away from him, Orange arrived. He heard a gasp and quickly broke off the kiss and turned around to face Orange, Rouge still having her grip on his arms. Orange stood there a moment, shocked. New tears were forming in her eyes.

Orange dropped her head, her eyes still staring at Knuckles who was too shocked to say anything at first. She whispered his name under her breath. "Knuckles…" She then broke out in a fit of rage. "YOU JERK! I can't believe you! I thought you loved me! I hate you and I'll never speak to you again!" She quickly ran back down the path she had come from with warm tears of anger rolling off her face and down to the ground. Knuckles quickly pulled away from Rouge and yelled out to her.

"ORANGE! Wait! It's not what you think!" He chased after her. Rouge stood back, watching after him until he was gone. She smiled to herself.

"HA! That was way too easy!" She secured the M.E. to a rope and began to fly with it to where Orange had ran off to. "Now that I have what I want, I'll swoop down and steal that crystal that girl has and then leave quickly. With all those tears in her eyes, she won't be able to see a thing."

Unknown to Rouge, somebody else had been watching the whole thing from a nearby tree. Shadow stood atop the highest tree branches, hidden among the leaves. He took up the Chaos emerald he was carrying around his neck and said, "Chaos Control!" He disappeared. Orange managed to slip away from Knuckles and headed up the path Knuckles had showed her two weeks before.

Rouge was approaching fast from behind. Just then a bright light formed in front of her, blocking her off from Orange's path. Rouge stopped as Shadow appeared in front of her. She dropped the M.E. and jumped back, away from him. "Shadow! You're just full of surprises, aren't you?" Shadow smirked.

"Heh…Well it's been a long time, Rouge. I see that you still enjoy causing trouble and stealing jewels." She smiled.

"Well, I do my best." Shadow got into a fighting stance.

"We never did get to finish our fight over the Chaos Emeralds back on the Ark. Why don't we finish it?" She also got into a fighting position.

"Bring it." Shadow shot forward as Rouge flew up into the sky. Shadow grabbed his Chaos Emerald and yelled out.

"Chaos Control!" He disappeared in a second and reappeared above Rouge, giving her a kick that sent her back down to the ground. He quickly repeated the process and landed on a low tree branch. He jumped down to the ground and walked to her as she slowly picked herself off the ground. "Your flying won't help you. Not as long as I have one of the Chaos Emeralds." She cursed.

"Damn! How am I supposed to hit him? I can't fly because he'll just use Chaos Control, and I can't run because he's so damn fast. I'll have to distract him and then attack." She said to herself. She looked around for anything she could use to throw him off guard. Her eyes caught sight of the M.E., and an idea sprung into her mind. She flew back up quickly, grabbing the rope connected to the M.E. in the process. She began to spin quickly.

Shadow looked up at her in confusion. "What is that bat doing?" She let go of the rope and sent the M.E. flying toward Shadow. He quickly moved to catch it but got hit hard in the stomach as he went to grab it. The last thing he wanted was it to get shattered. He was knocked off his feet and hit a tree.

Knowing he would catch it, Rouge took the opportunity to attack. She kicked him in the face, causing him to fly up and hit his head on a low tree branch. As he fell back down toward the ground head first, she managed to get another kick to his stomach. He was flung into another tree. She moved in to grab Shadow by his brown cape. (A/N: Yes, Shadow has a cape. I forgot to mention. Sorry. .) She flew up and began to spin again.

Shadow struggled to get away as he was being choked. She let go of the cape, sending Shadow into another tree, hitting every branch on the way down to the ground. He struggled back to his feet, leaning against the tree. Rouge flung herself back down toward him with a kick. However, Shadow managed to duck out of the way and grab her leg. He threw her into a tree, knocking her unconscious. He walked over to her slumped over body and flung her over his right shoulder.

He took the M.E. back to the shrine but still found the surrounding area empty. Knuckles was obviously still off looking for Orange. He was surprised not to find Tikal anywhere nearby. She had healed nicely and returned to her own time. All he found was a group of chao floating around the shrine, looking up at the empty spot sadly. Everything was quiet and peaceful. He wouldn't have mined staying around and sleeping but he knew he still had to do something with Rouge and find Orange to explain everything to her. The chao all turned to him and sang out in joy when they saw he had the M.E. with him.

They crowded around him, giving him small hugs and sounds of joy. Shadow smiled and at them and reassured them that the M.E. would be safe once again. "Hey, you guys! Sorry I can't stay and play with you, but I got to do something with this bat girl." He took his chaos emerald and said, "Chaos Control." He was warped from that spot to a place in Station Square. He found himself in a small dark apartment room.

He searched for a light but only found a closed window. He opened the curtain to let in some light. He also opened the window to air out the room. He was able to find a nearby couch and laid her on it. He then warped back to where he and Rouge had fought.

He began walking up the path where Orange had ran.

It didn't take long for him to find Orange. She hadn't made it very far. He ran to her side when he found her passed out on the ground. "Orange! Hey, Orange!" he said as he leaned her up against himself. He shook her gently in an attempt to wake her up.

He searched her body but found no marks on her. He felt her pale face and found it to be hot. He stood up with her in his arms. "I better get her back to Tail's place. It feels like she's running a high fever. She must have passed out on the way up here."

When he reached Tail's house, he found Sonic on the couch watching t.v. Sonic quickly got up and helped Shadow find a place to lay Orange down. They placed her in an upstairs bed and wrapped her in a warm blanket.

AN: Sorry I have to end it there for now. I need to recollect my thoughts and remember what comes next in this story. I'm sure I'll remember it quickly but that's all I have written down right now. And remember. If you want me to continue, send in reviews. If I don't get at least one, I probably won't continue and you wouldn't want that now, would you? 


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: OMG! CAN IT BE?! YES, IT IS! IT IS I! I HAVE RETURNED TO UPDATE THIS STORY! I'm terribly sorry for the long wait, you guys. I thank everybody and anybody that is still reading this story despite my late updates. However, I promise not to stop this story. There will be one last chapter after this and then an epilogue. But rest assured that this shall not be the end of my writing. As soon as I'm done writing "The Love of One" I'm moving on to two new stories. One will be an Invader Zim ZADR (Zim and Dib Romance) story. The other will be another Sonic the Hedgehog story. It will kind of be a sequel to my first story. Well, actually, I'm skipping ahead to that story. Originally, I had another story I'm making in between this story and the next but I have to go back and fix it up quite a bit before I post it. I might just put it up after I complete the second story. So that was just an update to let you all know what's coming up in the future. But for now, why don't I get started with the next chapter. Well, you guys were asking for it and here it is. Chapter 10! Disclaimer- I only own Orange! Nothing else! Absolutely nothing else except the plot! Don't sue me!

Chapter 10: Will you marry me?

Angel Island- 2:00 p.m.

"And so you see, that's what happened." Shadow finished explaining what had just happened to Sonic. "That's why I think it best that we get a hold of Tails right away. Where is he anyways?" Sonic shrugged his shoulders.

"All he told me was that he was going to test a new energy system for his plans. He should be back soon. Knowing him, he probably stopped by to see Amy. After Amy and I broke up, he's been spending all his spare time with her. I'm really glad they're getting along so well. I wonder if he's planning on-" his statement was cut short by the opening of a door. Tails walked in, his face downcast, dragging his tails sadly on the ground behind him. He threw his house keys across the room and onto his kitchen table before slouching down into a seat, his ears plastered down on his head. He let out a heavy sigh, not taking notice of the two hedgehogs sitting on his couch. Sonic stood first, making his way over to his depressed friend. "Hey, Buddy. What's got you down all of a sudden? Didn't your new energy system work?"

Tails raised his head and nodded slowly. "Yeah…but that's not what's upsetting me. It's Amy…" Sonic knelt down so he made eye contact with Tails.

"Why? What happened?"

"I…I don't know. I feel so stupid for not knowing, but I must have done something wrong. Why else would she leave?" Before Tails could continue, Sonic cut in.

" Wait! She left?! Where?!" Tails shook his head slowly.

"I don't know. All she told me was that she needed to get away. She said she'd be gone for a few months. She seemed pretty upset when she was telling me, but she wouldn't tell me the reason why she was leaving." Sonic stood up again.

"Hey, Buddy. Don't worry. I'm sure everything will work out for you guys. There's no way you're the cause of her leaving. I'm sure she'll come around and you'll be back together in no time." Tails smiled a little at Sonic's words.

"Thanks, Sonic."

Tails had noticed Shadow on the couch the entire time Sonic talked to him. Shadow re-explained everything to Tails and soon they were all upstairs in the room Orange was in. Tails knelt down next to her. He had to hold her head back to pour down some medicine to bring her temperature down. She swallowed and slowly came to, opening her eyes slowly but closing them quickly to block out the light.

She moaned. Her head was spinning and she was still feeling sick to her stomach. Shadow got down on his knees to ask here some questions. "Orange? Do you remember anything?" She moaned again and opened her eyes slightly. Her vision was blurry at first but soon cleared.

"Sha…Shadow?" It was all she could manage to say at first and she closed her eyes. A few silent moments passed before it hit her. All her previous thoughts came flooding back to her and her eyes snapped open. She sat up quickly, nearly falling back over from dizziness. She held her head, shaking it as though that would end all her problems.

It didn't help though. "Knu…Knuckles. That bastard! He's been cheating on me this entire time!" Tears were falling down her face. Shadow grabbed her shoulders and shook her a bit.

"Orange, that's not what happened. Let me explain-" She pulled away from his grip, shaking her head and yelling.

"NO! I don't want to hear it! I saw it with my own two eyes! I'll never forgive him!" She had completely forgotten she was carrying his child. Throwing her legs over the edge of the bed, she stood on shaky legs. She pushed past the others and locked herself in the bathroom. Shadow turned to Tails and Sonic, shaking his head and sighing.

"She's not going to listen to us. We need to find Knuckles and have him tell her." So Sonic, Tails, and Shadow split up in search of Knuckles. Orange was sitting against a wall in the bathroom. She searched her pockets for something but when she didn't find it, she made a small disappointed noise. She looked around the small room and noticed another pair of clothes on a chair. They were hers from earlier when she took a shower.

She picked them up searching the pockets with more success this time. She brought forth a pack of cigarettes and a lighter. Taking one of the sticks into her mouth, she lit it, taking in a long, shaky breath. She could feel new tears forming in her eyes. She tried to keep them back, shuddering from the attempt. She pulled her legs up, hugging her knees to her chest.

She removed the cigarette from her mouth a moment to exhale, smoke pouring out into the air. She blinked her eyes a few times, a couple of tears escaping and falling down her cheek. She buried her face back into her knees.

Finding Knuckles wasn't too hard considering Sonic and Shadow's speed. It was convincing Orange that the incident with Rouge was a complete accident that was going to be hard. Knuckles was more than happy to return to with the others to Tail's house. He was relieved to know Orange was safe, but he doubted whether he'd be able to win Orange back. When they reached the house, they headed straight up to the room they left Orange in. They knew Orange was still in the bathroom because the door remained locked. Knuckles approached the door slowly, hesitating before gently knocking.

The light knock on the door had Orange jumping a bit as she snapped back to reality. What she didn't expect to hear next was Knuckles' voice. He sounded nervous. "Or…Orange. It's me, Knuckles." she heard him say through the door. She was going to tell him to go away but decided against it, curious as to what he would say next.

There was a long silence before he continued. " Orange, I never meant for anything that just happened to have happened. I'm sorry. You must think I'm a big jerk. I can't blame you for being mad at me. I just want you to know how much I care for you. You mean the world to me. I'm sorry. Orange?" More silence followed and then a sigh from Knuckles told her he was leaving. He had sounded so broken up. He reached for the door preparing to exit when he heard a whispered voice through the bathroom door. He stopped in his tracks, turning suddenly.

"It's complicated…" There was a long pause and everything seemed to stop. Knuckles just stood where he was standing, staring wide eyed at the bathroom door. It seemed like she would never continue speaking. Finally she spoke up in a still hushed tone. "All my life I've had a hard time trusting anybody else other than my brother. That is until I met you. Whenever I'm around you I feel so safe and like nothing can ever hurt me again. I've never felt that way around anybody else in my life and don't want that feeling to go away…but…I just don't know what to do now. I want to believe you with all of my heart. I really do! But I'm scared. Scared of ever getting that close to anybody ever again and…And I…I just need some time to think, okay? I'm sorry." A new flood of tears came streaming from her eyes and she once again buried her face in her knees and just cried to herself.

She wasn't expecting Knuckles to respond to her words but when he did, her eyes snapped back open. His voice was still soft but at the same time harsh. "Goodbye, Orange. I'm sorry you feel that way. I did my best to make you feel safe but you still don't completely trust me. And it seems like you never will. If you can't trust me by now then I don't know what to say about our relationship. Maybe it was never meant to be the way I thought it would be. If you feel like talking things over, I'll be at my house. I can't guarantee that will fix anything between us however." Orange couldn't bare to listen to anymore of this.

"Please, Knuckles. Just leave. I told you I need time to think." Without so much as a second glance back, Knuckles turned to leave.

"I'm leaving now. Goodbye." With that said he left to return home. Things had not gone as well as he had been hoping them to go. All hopes he had of winning her back were quickly fading.

Orange curled up into a little ball on the floor as sleep began to take over her weary body. She felt herself being swept into a world of dreams. She opened her eyes shortly after, awakening to a mist filled area. Everything in her dream felt so real. She found herself surrounded by a cloud of almost purple fog. She was outside by a lake that could barely be seen. She could hear the sound of a small brook nearby that emptied into the lake and trees were surrounding her on all sides. Orange felt surprisingly calm in this place, almost as if she had been there before.

She stood still, waiting for the mist to clear. That's when she heard a voice calling out to her. " Orange…Orange…" She turned suddenly at the voice, searching for the source of the voice. It was soft and sweet, feminine too.

"Who…Who's there?" She turned her head up and caught sight of a bright light forming around her. It took a few moments for the light to form in front of Orange into a beautiful young echidna. Orange realized moments later who it was. "M…Mom?" Orange held her breath for a few seconds before slowly letting it out and trying to regain her composure.

"Hello, dear." her mother spoke to her. Orange sighed and smiled.

"You scared me, mom. I haven't seen you since I was 14 years old. Why haven't you come to visit me in my dreams, like you used to?" Her mother reached her hand out to run her delicate fingers over Orange's cheek.

"I'm sorry, dear, but you needed to move on in life and let me go. I will always be with you and take care of your family." She then reached her other hand down to Orange's stomach. "It will be a good child. A boy. And things will work out for the both of you." Orange's eyes snapped open at the information.

"Do you mean Knuckles and me?!? But…we had a fight! I don't know what to do! I really wish you were still here to help me through this! I can't do this alone! I need you!" Her mother just smiled at her daughter and replied gently.

"Child, I am always with you. You are never alone. And Knuckles will be with you too. I have seen the dispute between you two and if you truly love him, you will go to him now and believe him." Orange felt her eyes watering up and threw her arms around her mother in a tight hug.

"But…how? How can I believe him when I saw it with my own two eyes?!" Her mother pulled Orange closer and stroked her dreadlocks back.

"Things are not always as they seem. Listen to your friends and go to Knuckles now. If his story fits theirs' then take him back. I must be going now. Goodbye, Orange." Orange could feel her mother slipping away from her grip and she called out, tears now falling down her face.

"Wait! Please don't leave me again! Not yet!" Before her mother completely disappeared, she turned back to Orange and kissed her cheek gently.

"Orange, you've grown into a lovely young lady and I'm very proud of you. I know that you will make the right choice." Orange wiped away her tears, watching as her mother left and everything around her also began to disappear.

Orange awoke once again in the bathroom on the floor. She pushed herself up slowly, throwing her cigarette in the toilet and flushing it down. She opened the window to let the smoke out, vowing then and there not to take another cigarette for the remainder of her pregnancy. "I won't dare put my son in danger." She pushed the door open to go find Shadow and have him explain everything to her.

Knuckles sat at home in his room, not having had the heart to return to the shrine of the M.E. He sat at the end of his bed looking at a small box he had retrieved from his dresser. He sighed as he opened the small box looking at a small gold and diamond ring he had in there. "And to think I was going to ask you to marry me…" He sighed once more before closing it. "But it looks like that will never become a reality. There really isn't anything more for me in life." He couldn't help the tears that wanted to fall from his eyes.

He rarely cried but just this once he didn't care. He let them fall freely, leaving wet streaks all down his cheeks.

Meanwhile, Orange ran out the door of the house, running down the path to Knuckle's house. Shadow had explained the whole thing to her and she knew right then and there that Knuckles wasn't lying to her. She loved him and trusted him. She was still feeling a bit light-headed but that wasn't going to stop her from going straight to him and fixing all of this. She threw on her clothes and ran out the door before anybody could stop her.

She reached Knuckles' house in a matter of minutes, panting and knocking on the door with all her might. She waited a minute before the door opened even a crack. Knuckles peeked out, having to catch his breath when he saw who it was. "Or…Orange?" He didn't have time to say anything else before Orange had forced her way in and had her lips forcefully pushed up against his. Knuckles' eyes snapped open as he was pushed back against a wall, causing old photographs to fall to the floor from where they had been hanging.

Knuckles' shock quickly changed to relaxation as he got more into the kiss. He wrapped his arms around her slender body and pushed back against her lips. His eyelids slipped halfway shut as Orange licked her tongue across his lips and teeth, begging for entrance. Knuckles happily obliged, opening his mouth enough for Orange to dart her tongue in and wrap it around her lover's. They stayed like this for what seemed like forever before they pulled away to catch their breath. All Knuckles could say between pants was, "Wow! That pant was pant amazing!"

Orange smiled playfully at him. "I believe you…" That was all Knuckles needed to hear. He pulled Orange into his bedroom and picked up the box on his bed. He had Orange take a seat while he kneeled down on one knee, presenting her the box. Orange's breath quickened suddenly as he opened the it.

She looked to the beautiful ring shining in the sunlight that filled the room, and then to Knuckles. "Orange, will you marry me?" Everything seemed to stop around her as she accepted the ring. For the longest time she couldn't manage to say anything. Finally she managed a whisper.

"Yes…Yes! YES!" she threw her arms around his neck. "Yes, I'll marry you, Knuckles! I love you!" Knuckles hugged her back tightly, the happiness in his voice breaking through clearly.

"I love you too, Orange! And I always will!" With that said, he picked her up and threw her onto the bed. He kissed her deeply as he began to take all her clothes off. And so they made love, Orange enjoying every second of it.

A/N: I finished chapter 10! I finished chapter 10! I can't believe it but I finished chapter 10! 


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